Sorry for the little wait, not like me! Hope you enjoy, review if you do :D
Jessica paused and turned her head to the door, Who could that be? Her question was answered when Jamie's voice came through the door, "Nick, Nick, let me in, it's an emergency!" Nick reluctantly stood up and padded over to the door, opening it to see a sweaty, dishevelled looking Jamie panting as though he had just run a marathon. "Nick, I need your help, there's been an accident!"
"Woah, what do you mean an accident? Is mom okay? Is De okay?"
"Yeah, yeah they're fine," he replied shaking his head, "It's Josh." Nick frowned quizzically.
"Josh?" he asked.
"Josh, my best man, the guy who was doing the truffle shuffle on the pool table the other night."
"Ah," said Nick, his mind instantly filled with the picture of Josh's not inconsiderable girth wobbling like Jello along to 'Twist and Shout', he shuddered, "Well what's wrong?"
"After everyone left last night we decided to go up to the old Waverly water tower – look out over the city, have my last beers as a single guy…" Nick could see where this was heading, "Anyway, turns out he was a little drunker than he thought and when he tried to do a hand hang off the edge he slipped and he fell."
"Oh my God, is he okay?" Jess asked, appearing at Nick's shoulder.
"His leg's pretty messed up, the doc's say he needs an operation. But they also said it was good he was drunk as he relaxed and didn't tense up."
"Oh thank goodness," Jess breathed a sigh of relief.
"But, now I don't have a best man and I was hoping, well, would you do it?" he looked at Nick with pleading eyes.
"Oh, Jamie, I dunno, you know I'm not great talking in front of people…"
"You gotta do this bro, Deann is going to freak when she finds out as it is… I gotta make this day perfect for her and for that I need a best man. There's no one else I can ask." Nick swallowed and felt a small hand on his arm. He turned to look at Jess.
"You should do it Nick. You'll be great," she promised him.
"Ah, alright. What do I need to do?"
"Great man," Jamie engulfed him in a hug and patted his back, "First, can you take care of these," he took a small black velvet pouch out of this pocket and placed it in Nick's hand, "Then you need to come early with me to the church." With that he gave Nick a huge smile before running down the stairs. Nick silently closed the door and turned to face Jess.
"I'm sorry," he said simply.
"Why? You're helping your brother out," she replied taking hold of his arms.
"Well, I'd wanted to spend more time with you at the wedding but I guess I'll be stuck doing things for Jamie," he twisted his face into a side smile.
"We'll have plenty of time together at the reception. Look, you should go get showered, I want to try and get a few more z's. Didn't sleep too well last night , y'know." She reached on her tip toes and gave him a chaste peck on his forehead, before reaching for his towel and ushering him out of the door. As she closed it again behind him, she sank back against in, her mind lost in thought.
Stepping out of Bonnie's car Jess smoothed down the stiff material of her dress and flipped her hair over one shoulder. She hadn't seen Nick since he had bounded out of the house almost 2 hours earlier to collect the tuxedos and run last minute errands.
She was nervous, although she wasn't exactly sure why. She'd met everyone before and she loved weddings… but this felt different. A family wedding was kind of a big deal. She'd only ever attended one with a boyfriend before and that was Spencer's sister's – and his relatives had spent the whole time asking when it would be their turn. It had been awkward; made more awkward by Spencer's way of shrugging it off and laughing.
Turning, she smiled broadly at Bonnie, so smart in her lilac wedding outfit. She looked so proud that one of her sons was finally getting married. She walked over to Bonnie and hooked her arm with hers. "Oh Jess, I'm so excited, we've not had a family wedding in I don't know how long!" They started to slowly walk towards the chapel.
"Oh I love weddings too. I come from a small family so we don't have to many either," Bonnie squeezed her arm gently.
"Well let's hope it's not too long until the next one then," she finished, causing Jess's mind to spin a little more as they stepped inside.
Nick carefully fingered the velvet pouch in his pocket as he watched Jamie nervously pace up and down the small side room they were waiting in. The other groomsmen were working as ushers, leaving Nick to give his little brother a final pep talk.
"Oh God, I'm so nervous," said Jamie, struggling to control his breathing, "It's just, I love her so much. Damn, I can't believe she is marrying me. You got the rings?" Nick lifted the small bag out of his pocket and into Jamie's line of sight. "Okay, what else, I got tux, rings, hip flask," with that he took out a small silver bottle and took a swig of it's contents before offering it to Nick, who shook his head, "and vows." He reached in his jacket pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of yellow lined paper.
"Looks like your all set. What are your vows?" Jamie passed the paper over to Nick who unfolded it and smoothed it out.
You are hot, you are awesome, I can't believe you want to be with me. Let's do this.
"Let's do this? Are you sure this is setting the right tone?" Nick's face settled into and uncertain grimace.
"You know I'm no good with words, I only passed high school cos Ma wrote my English papers." Nick nodded in agreement; Jamie was just about the least eloquent person he knew.
"Okay, well, I think we need to do a little polishing," he looked around the room and saw a desk in the corner. In the drawer, he found a pen and a small, white notepad. He handed them to Jamie, "Here, take some notes."
Settling into their seats on the left of the central, flower strewn aisle, Jess fidgeted in her seat. Bonnie had taken her place on the front pew and Jessica was sitting alone a few rows behind. She had a nagging feeling, an urge: she wanted to see Nick. She wasn't sure why but the thought wouldn't go away so she rose from her seat and looked around the room. Unable to see him, she finally saw Bobby's mop of orangey hair and headed to him where he was directing the new arrivals. Tapping him on the shoulder, she asked him, "Hey, where's Nick?" Bobby looked annoyed to have been interrupted but cocked his thumb towards a small door at the front right of the church.
"The best man and the groom are over there," ouch, thought Jess, someone's a little bitter. Without responding she quickly headed over to the door, she was about to knock when she heard voices inside. Curious, she moved her ear closer to the door and listened.
"So, what have we got so far?" she heard Nick's voice clearly.
"Er, okay, here goes… I promise to love and care for you, and I will try in every way to be worthy of your love. I will always be honest with you; kind, patient and forgiving."
"Okay, that's a start. Try this: I will be your partner in life, through the good times and the stupid times, I promise to appreciate all the unique things that make you you, I promise to make you laugh, hold your hand through the scary moments, to dry your tears when you are sad…" he trailed off.
"Nick, this is GOLD! Deann is going to love it!" Nick was ringing his hands, deep in thought.
"Yeah, but it needs, it needs one last thing;" he paused for a minute, "-But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal friend to you. I love you, Jessica." There was an audible gasp outside the door, Nick's head instantly turned towards the door.
"Deann, Nick, her name is Deann," Jamie muttered as he wrote down the last of Nick's words.
"Did you hear something?" Nick asked, Jamie grunted in response. So Nick headed for the handle of the door.
Meanwhile…
Jess strained to hear the voices inside the room without looking too obvious to the other guests. Nick's voice had gone a little quieter, but she leaned a little closer in time to hear, "But most of all, I promise to be a true and loyal friend to you. I love you, Jessica." Jessica had instantly gasped and her hand had flown to her mouth. What was that? Had he just said her name? Was that meant for her? Oh my God…
She stood frozen to the spot, she really ought to run back to her seat but her legs felt like Jello and she doubted she would make it. Suddenly, the door to the room swung open and their stood Nick Miller.
Nick Miller. In a tux. Hair swept back. The white of the tuxedo shirt showing off his summer tan and making his eyes sparkle. She was momentarily distracted by how handsome and how hot he looked. He didn't often dress up but when he did, oh man… She shook herself out of her daydream and opened her mouth to speak-
"Jess?" Nick asked her quizzically. She beamed at him in response, a stupid, silly, girly grin. "How long have you been stood here… Did you hear…?"
"Oh me, I just got here, like 2 seconds ago. Just wanted to wish you luck. So good luck!" panicking, she turned on her heels and skipped back to her seat.
Crap, he thought. She heard, she definitely heard and now I've freaked her out. Resigned, he closed the door and returned to Jamie.
The ceremony was beautiful, in a Miller way. The bride walked down the aisle to 'Just can't help falling in love with you', which made Bonnie cry. Her dress was a vast meringue affair which struggled to fit between the pews. The bridesmaids were adorned in dresses of canary yellow and cobalt blue and carried matching posies. Jamie cried first, then Deann, then Bonnie, then Bobby. Finally, even the pastor joined it. They lit a candle to represent Walt, which Jess thought was sweet and finally they exited the church to a raucous rendition of 'Another one bites the dust'.
Jess rode with Bonnie back to the house after the usual photos were taken. The caterers were busy at work and the canopy in the garden was ready with a small dance floor and a band doing a sound check. The Millers living room had been emptied and replaced by a selection of folding card tables covered in white and yellow checked table cloths. Jess milled around making small talk with the various guests, gushing over the brides dress and other such wedding pleasantries.
Finally, the wedding party arrived, Jamie carrying Deann over the threshold and the other groomsmen walked in supping on bottles of beer. She saw him, Nick. He caught her eye and his face looked worried. She wanted to go over and talk to him but she was cut off by Deann screaming, "God I'm hungry, let's eat!" before she led the guests into the yard for the wedding barbeque.
Jess filled her plate with ribs, sausage, chicken wings and potato salad before making her way to a table on the porch. Nick was still busy making pleasantries with the guests and they had only had time to say a quick, "Hi," in the 30 minutes since he had arrived. Her stomach felt queasy and she picked at the food, unable to take more than a small mouthful. Sipping on her glass of cool champagne she watched the happy faces of the families as they tucked in to their food and sank bottles of ice cold beer.
Jess had always loved weddings. They were happy times of hope, promise and commitment. The joining together of two people and two families and the creation of something new. As she took another sip she thought, I definitely want this. But do I want it with… Nick? Does he want it with me?
Before she could answer her own question, Nick appeared in front of her, clutching his own plate. "Is this seat taken?" he asked, gesturing to the folding chair beside her.
"Well I was saving it for my boyfriend, but I can't seem to see him anywhere so it's yours," and she gave him a small wink as he laughed and sat down. "Seriously Nick, you look good. You need to find a job where you can wear one of those every day." She reached out and ran her thumb along the lapel of his jacket, taking in the sight of his casually undone tie and unbuttoned shirt, just enough to see a little hair.
"You're one to talk; there isn't a guy here who can keep his eyes off you. You look beautiful Jess." He smiled at her with soft eyes as she lightly blushed.
The made small talk and continued to eat and drink as they both avoided the conversation that they were both desperate to have – what had been overheard earlier. Nick was sure she had heard but lacked the confidence to ask her about it. He was scared; mostly scared he had scared her. Sure, she was being nice but what was she thinking inside. Sometimes Nick thought he was no good at this relationship stuff.
After a little lull, the caterers began to clear away and the guests gathered on the lawn. They moved to stand at the rail that marked the edge of the porch and watched the scene below.
"Are you having a good time Jess? I'm sorry I had to kind of abandon you earlier," he asked as he put his arm around her waist.
"Yes, a great time. You family are great Nick, really nice." Feeling a bit more confident, he decided to go for it. A few bottles of beer had upped his confidence.
"Jess, earlier, in the church, what did you really hear?" she turned to face him and he was sure he saw a flash of panic in her eyes.
"Er-" she began.
"Nick, Nick!" she heard Bonnie calling her son's name, "It's time for the speeches" he turned and gave Jess an apologetic look.
"Sorry, I gotta go, but, lets talk about this when I'm done." Jess nodded and watched as he walked towards the marquee on the lawn.
4 speeches and twice as many toasts later, the wedding was heading into the evenings celebrations. Dusk was starting to draw in and small sparkles of stars began to light up the sky.
"Okay ladies, it's time to throw the bouquet!" Marcie's voice rang out loud and clear over the murmur of the crowd. Jess stood still until she heard, "You too Jess! Get your cute butt down here!"
Unwilling to argue with Marcie, she picked her way down the steps to the lawn and waited with the other single ladies.
"Okay!" shouted Deann, "Whoever gets this, you're getting hitched but you ain't ever gonna be as lucky as I am," with that she pulled her groom close into a messy, passionate and somewhat inappropriate kiss. Finally she turned with her back to the waiting women and shouted, "One! Two! Three!"
There was a scuffle of arms, legs, hands and feet as 15 desperate ladies scrambled and fought over the precious prize. Jess was pushed, shoved and almost trodden on but finally, she felt the cool, soft petals brush past her hand. She paused, grabbing tight hold before thrusting her hand in the air in a victorious salute.
"We have a winner!" shouted Deann. Jess panted from the excitement, it was the first time she had won the bouquet. She beamed as she stood and brushed some blades of grass from her blue dress before taking a bow. Dipping into her second bow she locked eyes with Nick. His face looked serious. She slowly lowered her arm before rising up again and bending into a final little curtsy.
After being congratulated by the other ladies (including some very inappropriate comments about how Nick looked in his tux – which she had to admit she kind of liked), Jess picked up the flowers and a fresh glass of champagne and headed over to join Nick, where he stood at the edge of the dance floor.
"So, you won…" he began, pointing at the trophy in her hands.
"Yeah, it's just a game, doesn't mean anything," she replied, placing the flowers on a nearby table.
"I didn't say it meant anything…" They both took a sip of their drinks as a tense silence emerged. Jess was the one to break it.
"I'm going to be honest. I heard. What you said earlier."
"Everything?" he asked.
"Yeah, I think so." She looked up at him with large, honest eyes.
"Ah Jess, it was a mistake, I was helping Jamie write his vows… It didn't mean anything. I don't want to scare you. I love what we have right now. It was just a slip of the tongue." Jess felt a wave of disappointment flash over her.
"Oh, good, I mean, we haven't been dating long and you know, we need to take it slow. Not rush. Do things properly." She rambled as she tried to cover her true feelings.
"Yeah, that's way off. Way off…" Nick added. They both trailed off deep in thought as they turned to watch the dance floor.
On stage, the wedding singer was calling everyone to attention. "Okay, people, lets' get this started. Time for the first dance, to the new Mr and Mrs Miller!" The crowd rose into rapturous applause as Jamie led Deann out onto the dance floor, holding her hand up high and twirling her around.
The band began to strike up as the singer grasped the mike and the first few bars of the song began, When I'm feeling blue, all I have to do, is take a look at you, Jess's head swung to face Nick at the sound of the lyrics. Did he remember? He smiled at her. Maybe he didn't … Deann and Jamie swung around the floor, Jamie dipping and twisting her enthusiastically. Gradually other couples began to join them. Nick turned to Jess.
"Would you like to dance?" he asked reaching out his hand.
"I though Nick Miller didn't dance," she replied.
"I'm willing to make an exception," and he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her onto the wooden floor. Moving together, they swayed to the music, the lyrics washing over them:
When I'm in your arms, nothing seems to matter
My whole world could shatter, I don't care
Wouldn't you agree, baby you and me got a groovy kind of love
"Do you remember?" Nick began.
"Yeah, this was our first wedding dance," she replied, wrapping her arms more tightly around his neck. He drank in the feeling of her body against his and let his body and mind relax and swirl with possibilities. He loved her. He wanted this. Why lie, why not be honest….
"Jess," he whispered into her ear as the song continued to play and couples whirled around them, "I love you"
"I know Nick, I love you too."
"Yes, I know. And I want this. With you." Jess pulled slightly away and gazed deep into his eyes. "Someday, I don't know when, I want you to be the bride throwing the bouquet and having you first dance. With me." Jess was silent. Nick was worried he had gone too far. He felt like he kept rushing this relationship, risking it's fragile foundations. Finally she pulled closer to him and whispered in his ear.
"It's what I want to, more than anything in the world." And she pulled him into a sweet, tender kiss. Full of longing, hope and promise.